Claw hammer cap



- A. F. BlANCHlN] CLAW HAMMER GAP Jan. 18, 1966 Filed April 21, 1964 INVENTOR ANDREW E BIANCHINI %J%? ATTORNE j United States Patent 3,229,738 CLAW HAMMER CAP Andrew F. Bianchini, Providence, R.I., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Industrial Tool & Machine Co., Higgins Lane, Georgiaville, R.I., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Apr. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 361,435 1 Claim. (Cl. 145-29) My present invention relates to claw hammers and more particularly to a novel cap construction for the driving head.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a claw hammer cap which will prevent marring of coated nails, siding or other building materials during the hammering operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protective claw hammer cap which is designed to fit hammers of different constructions having different diameters.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a claw hammer cap designed to fit tightly on to the driving head of a claw hammer regardless of variations in size.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a claw hammer cap which will control over driving of nails through siding surfaces by reason of the inherent resilience of the cap material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a claw hammer cap having friction characteristics which help to retain the hammer on the nail during the striking operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a claw hammer cap which is simple in construction and easy and economical to manufacture and assemble.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and more particularly defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a claw hammer provided with a cap of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cap assembled with its bushing.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the cap and bushing.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cap and bushing.

It has been found that certain prefinished siding and similar materials are very easily dented and bruised during installation. Many of these materials are provided with coated nails in matched colors. Ordinary hammering on the heads of these nails cause the colors to flake and chip. Furthermore, while the siding is of a soft material, the nail has a tendency to over drive and sink beneath the surface causing dents and indentations. All these disadvantages are corrected by the use of plastic caps placed over the hammering head of a claw hammer. When the caps are made out of tough stretchable material marring of the nails or of the siding material is prevented and over driving of the nails is controlled. Other advantages of a cap on a claw hammer are the protection of all building materials where marring is a particular problem. However, claw hammers are usually provided in sixteen and twenty ounce weights and vary considerably in shape due to different manufacturing companies designs. In view of the functioning of the hammering head, these may not be made too accurately. As a result there is a considerable variation in diameters Patented J an. 18, 1966 from the hammer of one manufacturer to that of another. It is therefore difficult to provide a universal claw hammer cap to fit all hammers. The cap of the present invention is designed to fit most claw hammers by providing a cap which is slightly smaller than the largest size so that it will be forced on to the hammer and will fit tightly. If the hammer head is extremely small or you are moving from a twenty to a sixteen ounce hammer, the cap of the present invention is provided with a bushing which is designed to cooperate with the cap and ensure a tight fit.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional claw hammer having a wooden handle 10 and a hammer head 11 with a claw portion 12 and a head 13. In accordance with the present invention I provide a cap 14 in the form of a cup shape having comparatively thin sides 15 and a thicker striking area 16 which is slightly domed to conform to the slight radius on the striking surface of the hammer. The open end is provided with a 45 radius at 17 to facilitate mounting. Normally, the cap 14 may be forced over the hammer head 13 into the position shown in FIG. 1.

It is preferred that the cap 14 be made of polyurethane. This is a tough durable substance and is made with a two hundred percent elongation so that it will withstand the impact at the head 16 when the hammer is being used. In using building materials where marring is a particular problem it is essential that the hammer head be covered with a cap such as shown herein. In some instances color coated nails are used with prefinished siding or other indoor materials for matching purposes. The hard steel hammer head 13 would cause the nails to chip and flake whereas the polyurethane protects the coloring. Furthermore, because of the elongation characteristics of the polyurethane, control is exercised over the over driving of the nail through the surface causing depressions. Furthermore, the polyurethane has certain friction characteristics which reduce slippage of the hammer on the nail.

Because of the amount of variations possible with hammers made by different manufacturers, there is a variation in the size of the head 13. Furthermore, the cap is designed to go on hammers from 16 and 20 ounce sizes. I therefore provide a bushing 18 in the form of a clear plastic sleeve. The bushing 18 is preferably made of polybutyrate. This substance is provided in the clear color and has good elongation and high friction characteristics. The bushing 18 is approximately & thick. It is contemplated that the bushing have an outside diameter of from 1.122 to 1.125 inches, thus allowing for a .003-

variation in the material. On the other hand the cap 14 has an internal diameter of 1.118 inches. This means that the cap must stretch over the bushing. Since the polyurethane cap is also of high friction, there will be no slippage between the cap and the bushing once they are in position as shown in FIG. 1. Thus the bushing permits for a tight fit regardless of the variations in the diameter of the hammer head 13. To facilitate assembly and removal, the bushing 18 is made long enough to extend out of the cap 14 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The device is very simple to apply, the hammer head is guided into the bushing or cap and is struck against a solid object which immediately forces it on to the cap. To remove the device, a pair of pliers or other clamping tool may be required to grip the cap and twist it off the hammer. The cap and bushing are simple and economical to manufacture, the only care that must be taken is the requirement of the diameter of the various pieces. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

A cap for a claw hammer head comprising a tubular body portion of a homogenous material adapted to frictionally fit over a hammer head, and an integral bottom portion, said tubular body portion being of uniform diameter, said bottom portion providing a cushion for the striking area of said hammer, said cap being formed of polyurethane having a 200% elongation, and a tubular sleeve forming a bushing for ensuring a tight fit of said cap on the hammer head, said bushing being formed of high friction polybutyrate, said cap having an inside di- 10 ameter smaller than the outside diameter of said bushing.

' 4 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,952,284 9/ 1960 Nichols et al. 3,038,194 6/1962 Arenson 1643 FOREIGN PATENTS,

550,803 1/1943; Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner. 

